13.07.2018Bayer 04

Werkself start football-specific preparations

The Bayer 04 players are on the ball again. After the official end to the summer break last Thursday, Heiko Herrlich led out his players for the second session on the training ground at the BayArena on Friday afternoon: Following the performance tests for the pros and a session on Saturday, the Bayer 04 head coach arranged a three-day bike tour and then gave his players two days off. With the clear aim of his players being well and truly up for the pre-season.

In summer temperatures, Herrlich had to manage without five players in World Cup finalist Tin Jedvaj, Germany international Julian Brandt (holiday), Lukas Hradecky (wisdom tooth operation), Charkes Aranguiz (rehab training after slight knee injury) and Panos Retsos (hand injury) – nevertheless, there were 21 outfield players and three goalkeepers on the training ground. To start with, Lars Bender, Mitchell Weiser and Co. worked on coordination drills on the ball before the Werkself first team players split into pairs for crosses and shots at goal. The most accurate duo were were Kevin Volland and Julian Baumgartlinger ahead of Sven Bender and Dominik Kohr.

"Tomorrow we'll start on different moves," announced Heiko Herrlich ahead of the forthcoming training sessions at the weekend (Saturday, 10.30 and 16.00 CET plus Sunday at 10.30 CET) five days before the first friendly at SV Rossbach/Verscheid (18 July, 18.00 CET). The pre-season is now finally underway.

Related News

Bayer 04 - 01.01.2026

AFCON blog: Werkself quartet in last 16 - Maza and Kofane score

Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...

Bayer 04 - 01.01.2026

Rudi recounts…: Vollborn’s January highlights

Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…

Bayer 04 - 30.12.2025

Bundesliga Goal of the Year: Vote now for Terrier or Wirtz

With their wonderful goals, Martin Terrier and Florian Wirtz are up for the Bundesliga Goal of the Year 2025. Voting for fans will run exclusively via the official Bundesliga app until Sunday, 4 January.

Bayer 04 - 30.12.2025

Carro and Rolfes' year-end interview: 'A new beginning – and promising prospects'

The ‘year after’ the most successful year in the club's history brought many changes at Bayer 04. In an exclusive double interview with bayer04.de shortly before the Christmas break, Fernando Carro and Simon Rolfes spoke about building a new team capable of winning trophies, the work of coach Kasper Hjulmand, the young new signings who have quickly developed into key players, and their personal plans for the Christmas holidays. Their outlook for the coming year also shows that the potential is far from exhausted and ambitions remain high.

Youth - 29.12.2025

Youth teams review 2025: Thrilling final and historic progress in Youth League

Last-minute ecstasy, huge disappointment and a historic performance on the European stage - 2025 was a real emotional roller coaster, especially for the U19s. A rousing run in the knockout phase secured the team a place in the final of the German championships, where they lost by the narrowest of margins. Despite the departure of several key players, the young Werkself team quickly regained their usual strength and qualified for the knockout rounds in the UEFA Youth League for the first time at the end of the year. In 2025, youngsters Jeremiah Mensah and Montrell Culbreath made their debuts in the Bundesliga, the DFB Pokal and the UEFA Champions League. The other youth teams also contributed great performances and a number of trophies to the collective Black and Red success, while the successful Bayer 04 Future Kids project broke new ground. Read on for the 2025 review of the youth teams.